Advancing giants

The European Commission, which began the debate two years ago, says the overhaul is necessary to protect Europe’s cultural heritage and create a level playing field between big online platforms and publishers, broadcasters and artists. Of the lawmakers, 438 voted in favor while 226 were against, with 39 abstentions. The next step is negotiations with the Commission and the 28 EU countries to reconcile their different positions before existing copyright laws are amended, with a final vote expected next year. French President Emmanuel Macron said the vote was a “great advance for Europe”, while the Commission’s digital chief Andrus Ansip said it sent a strong and positive signal of a reform designed to protect EU researchers, educators, writers, media and cultural heritage institutions. The Federation of European Film Directors (FERA), the Federation of Screenwriters in Europe (FSE) and the Society of Audiovisual Authors (SAA) also welcomed the vote. Google … [Read more...] about EU lawmakers back publishers over tech giants on copyright

Stock Market VN-Index advances for fifth day By Phuong Thao Wednesday, Aug 22, 2018,17:59 (GMT+7) VN-Index advances for fifth dayBy Phuong Thao HCMC – A number of large banks came under strong profit taking pressure today, August 22, but the VN-Index of the Hochiminh Stock Exchange still managed to advance slightly for the fifth consecutive session. The main index closed the day up 2.94 points, or 0.3%, at 982.15, with trading volume and value on the southern bourse improving slightly to 204 million shares worth VND4.5 trillion. Market breadth was positive as gainers outnumbered losers by 152 to 128. Nine listed banks made different performances, with five lenders falling, one moving sideways and the remainder increasing. STB was the second most actively traded stock on the exchange with 6.5 million shares traded, adding 2.2% to VND11,450 a share. Among large caps, property giant VIC gained 0.5% at VND103,600 per share, … [Read more...] about VN-Index advances for fifth day

The Hanoitimes - The World Cities Summit is an exclusive platform for government leaders and industry experts to address liveable and sustainable city challenges, share integrated urban solutions and forge new partnerships. Leading international technology and engineering companies gathered at the World Cities Summit 2018 in Singapore from July 8 to 12 to show off their most advanced technologies and solutions as government officials and policymakers seek to improve urban governance and build liveable and sustainable cities. The exhibitors displayed products and services that can help solve a wide spectrum of pressing problems that cities are looking for solutions to, from waste treatment, energy management, to transportation and logistics, water treatment, automation, air control, etc. Present at the exhibition were big names such as Alstom, Bombardier, Toshiba, Mitsubishi Electric, Huawei, Sembcop, among others. Siemens AG, a Germany-headquarters industrial powerhouse that is present … [Read more...] about Global giants showcase cutting-edge techs at World Cities Summit 2018

Major brands in the footwear industry are shifting their outsourced work to Vietnam instead of China, but experts doubt this will be a good thing in the long run. Sneaker giant Adidas last year had 44 percent of its footwear produced in Vietnam, more than double the 19 percent made by suppliers in China. This figure also marked a 31 percent increase from 2012 for Vietnam and a 30 plus percent decrease for China A similar move can also be seen at Adidas’ rival Nike, which had 46 percent of its footwear made in Vietnam last year, against just 27 percent in China. While China remains the top supplier in the fashion industry, Vietnam is now seen by major brands as a solid and critically important supplier in second place, according to survey results released by the United States Fashion Industry Association. “We are reporting a change in the sourcing trend, from ‘China Plus Many’ to ‘China Plus Vietnam Plus Many,’” the association said. The typical … [Read more...] about Footwear giants shift outsourcing from China to Vietnam

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam needs new policies to allow domestic firms to compete equally with foreign ones, experts have said. Vietnam offers big preferences to foreign firms Minister of Information and CommunicationTruong Minh Tuan said at Internet Day 2017 that Vietnam is pursuing a ‘reverse protection policy’, i.e. instead of protecting domestic enterprises, it is giving many preferences to foreign firms. While foreign companies are exempt from the fee for putting servers in Vietnam, Vietnamese corporations such as VNG and VC Corp have to pay a leasing fee and be under strict management. While foreign firms which provide services across borders only have to pay the contractor withholding tax of 5 percent, Vietnamese firms which provide similar services have to pay many kinds of tax, including the 25 percent CIT. “We are thinking of creating favorable conditions for Vietnamese firms to be on equal terms with foreign companies … [Read more...] about Digital content firms seek fairness in competition with foreign giants